As innocent as one gets
by Metaphors and Miracles
Summary: Beyond Birthday waits patiently in his cell for his next visitor, a victim to his mind games. Takes place after Another Note and later chapters will be during the Kira case.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey there! This is my second Beyond Birthday fan fiction. You don't need to read my other Beyond Birthday fan fiction, 'Names,' in order to read this one, but it would give a better understanding as to how I portray Beyond Birthday.**

* * *

The foreign tapping of heels coming closer echoed inside of the cell. The cell mimicked a dark box with barely enough light illuminating to be able to identify ones surrounding, though not insufficient enough for the absence of light to go unnoticed. The room was a perfect square cut in half by a translucent wall; on one side of the wall there was a door leading to freedom and civilization, while on the opposite side laid a simple bed, a toilet and a focused young man hugging his knees as he crouched making the room seem bigger than it was. This was Beyond Birthday's cell.

Beyond Birthday focused on the sound of the heels. A persistent pattern of clicks and clacks was created as the person got closer.

 _She's confident_ , Beyond Birthday analyzed. Just as he made that assumption the pattern of heels hitting the floor become irregular with lots of intervals in between and forced steps made as said person dragged her feet across the floor.

 _Maybe not,_ Beyond Birthday reanalyzed.

The door's handle was pushed downward slowly but the door was flung open failing to hide the hesitation the person felt.

Walking in the room was a woman who seemed older then he had remembered her being, yet still looking as young as ever. Her hazel eyes scanned every inch of the room unnecessarily, simply to show of her detective skills and position. She sat on the only inanimate object on her side of the room, a chair.

Beyond Birthday was crouched opposite of her giving her his back. Neither one of them aid a word but the small noises each one created as they made slight movements spoke volumes.

"I know I have your full attention, even though you won't look at me," she finally had the guts to say.

Beyond Birthday leapt out of his position and turned towards her with an exaggerated smile. He spread his arms and walked towards her with fake excitement seeming to intent on giving her a hug. His movement was stopped by the translucent wall separating them, which appeared to also stop his acting. He lowered his arms and his smile was replaced with a frown as he walked backwardly towards his bed and sat on it, still eying her the whole time.

He sat on the bed with his feet dangling down like a normal person, though such a normal way of sitting seemed bizarre on such an abnormal person.

"Naomi Misora," Beyond Birthday stated as a more befitting greeting then 'Hello' or others under that similar category.

"Beyond Birthday," she replied testing the two words unsure if they were accurate to describe the person in front of her.

With the position they both were in, they could finally have a perfect view of the other. They analyzed each other as two high school friends would during a ten year reunion; each person wondering how the other turned out to be so different after years of separation.

Naomi's long black hair and smooth pale skin hinted long hours of grooming. She was dressed in a knee-length dark tight dress that was both professional and flattering on her. Her fourth finger on her left hand was decorated by a modest diamond ring, while her right wrist held an expensive looking watch. She physically might seem upgraded to the average person's eye but not BB's. He could tell by the way she repeatedly smoothed non-existing creases on her dress and the way she played with her hair that she had lost some of her distinctive confidence. It seemed like she too could not understand how she got to be who she was.

Beyond Birthday, on the other hand, looked unrecognizable; not only was that because of the patches of burnt skin drooping and in desperate need of being smoothed out but also because of the lack of makeup. Beyond Birthday no longer had the utensils or the need to change his features into ones that mimicked L's. Dark bags and pale skin was absent from his features instead revealing milky skin and unnerving red eyes. He did not show signs of anger or sadness but simply disappointment at the world for not following his plans.

"I'm surprised by your visit," he stated breaking the comfortable silence.

"Did you think I wouldn't visit you?"

"No that's not it; I simply thought you'd visit sooner."

Naomi frowned in response to his confidence; well more accurately, by the fact that he, a prisoner, had more confidence than she.

"Well, what was I to expect? You were probably too busy with your boyfriend," staring at her ring he stated "when did he propose? Was it after you got promoted and he thought he could use you to climb up the ladder of success? Speaking of success, do your co-workers bluntly tell you how undeserving you are for it or do they simply say it behind your back? You do know that the only reason you won against me was because of the hints I gave, ones you wouldn't understand without _me_ deciphering them for you?"

"Stop!" she cried out as her breathing came harshly.

Beyond Birthday smiled. Toying with her mind was, to simply put it, entertaining; especially when most of the things he said were false. Most men would not wish to have a more successful wife, and so her former boyfriend would not have married her if he simply wanted to use her instead he would have continued dating her until he had no use for her. Also, BB knew that the reason he lost was because he underestimated Naomi; she would've been able to solve his case without his hints and help.

"I could've sworn you were nicer," she stated after composing herself.

"It's quite abnormal to describe a murderer as nice"

"I never said you were nice. I said nicer or, in other words, less mean"

Beyond Birthday smiled at her small victory of outsmarting him, the same way a master would smile at his student's success.

"Well, you're not very nice either"

"I'm a detective, did you expect me to let you burn yourself and allow the case to go unsolved?"

"That's not why you're not nice," BB pouted causing Naomi to raise an eyebrow in questioning.

"You come to visit me without an offering for the host, that's quite rude; you should've brought me some strawberry jam"

"What? You were dubbed mentally challenged and sent to an asylum instead of a prison; you should be grateful, a murderer like you deserved to be sentenced to death"

"It's better in fact to be guilty of manslaughter than of fraud about what is fair and just," he stated turning the conversation back to a serious tone.

"Plato? He was a horrible philosopher"

"No, He was a horrible theorist. Philosophers shouldn't be theorists. Philosophers need audiences while theorists need content."

"Still, his philosophy justified crime making criminals seem righteous. But the righteous aren't the ones sentenced to jail for murder," stated annoyed for being outsmarted once more.

"He didn't justify their crime he simply stated that they were more justified than the crimes of lawyers, political leaders, L; all the people that caused others destruction but were admired because they killed in a skillful way, one that made victims praise them."

"Are you claiming that you're not skillful enough to make your crimes dismissed?" Naomi stated acknowledging that she had a better chance winning the argument by attacking his pride than by trying to outsmart him.

"On the contrary, I, too, can do so, but I'm more pretentious in my killing. I wish to strike fear by killing not admiration. In a way, does that not seem more virtuous to you?"

She bit the inside of her bottom lip. She was frustrated, desperate but most of all she knew she was wrong.

"So why have you come? You don't seem like the type to gloat; I'd expect that from L," Beyond Birthday closed the former conversation in victory and moved towards a new one.

"I haven't come to gloat. I came to understand why? You have a great mind; you could work under or rather with L. You could help eliminate corruption," she stated forgetting about the venom she held for him only moments ago "but instead you chose to be a murderer"

"Naomi, Naomi, Naomi," Beyond Birthday repeated her name as though he was speaking to a child "We live in a world where every age in time people like to assume that corruption was of a recent discovery, simply so that they can say 'time will return as it was.' Though, corruption was ever present wherever humans roamed. It is just that some corruptions are more socially acceptable. "

"Two wrongs don't make a right"

"Yes, two wrongs don't make a right; but three lefts make a right and two negatives make a positive," he stated cheerfully.

"Now tell me honestly, why have you visited me? You couldn't have really expected me to see the world in your perspective."

Naomi looked down at her watch but not really focusing on the time it stated.

"My time is over, I have to go"

She stood up abruptly and walked towards the exit no longer trying to keep her composure.

"Say 'hello' to Ray Penber for me," he called out to her causing her to stop suddenly.

A moment of silence passed between them that lasted way too long for his liking. Beyond Birthday could sense Naomi's pure anger, something that he had been foreign to until this very moment.

Naomi visibly fixed her posture as she straightened her back and started walking more confidently than she just had moments ago. The tapping of her feet slowly faded as he realized that his statement had lost him the only person he had considered a friend.

* * *

 **A/N: I sort of have no idea how I'm going to develop the story but Naomi will not be present in the further chapters. Like with all my other stories, constructive criticism is highly appreciated..**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm probably going to take longer to update the next chapter since I'm gonna start my exams next week.**

* * *

Beyond Birthday rubbed his hands and fingers in a violent motion. It seemed as though he was trying to rip off his fingers during his outward gestures only to then smooth and massage the ever bruising red skin.

Once he had woken up that very morning- well, he didn't truly know if it was morning since the knowledge of time was a luxury he did not receive in his cell, a statement that didn't really bother him since time was a nuisance in the confined world of four walls- a laptop was mockingly staring at him from the other side of the room. The white laptop stood menacingly over a simple school desk which had only appeared recently; BB knew that was a fact, though the laptop's natural blend into the monochromatic cell led him to suspect that it were there all along.

Beyond Birthday continued rubbing his hands, a habit he had only created recently, though the purpose of it was a mystery to Beyond Birthday himself. He didn't know if he was angry, exited or simply anxious about the events that will inevitably unfold because of the presence of the laptop. His newly found habit did not do anything to subdue his feelings but rather enhanced them. Strong feelings had been absent in Beyond ever since he lost to L and labelled that as an act of betrayal from the world. Escape, a feat that Beyond Birthday could achieve easily, was not appealing to him since he had no plan or motivation to follow after such an act, and so he sat there pathetically in his cell waiting for his next visitor, a victim to his mind games.

Beyond Birthday finally stared directly at the laptop's camera. He knew his opponent had been watching, analyzing and judging him- an unfair advantage that came with his opponent's title. He waited for his opponent to make the first move, to disrupt the laptop's white screen with his Gothic black letter that would soon be followed by an altered robotic voice. Beyond Birthday didn't have to wait long as the letter _L_ presented itself on the screen.

"Good _evening_ " L stressed on the word 'evening' knowing about B's lack of knowledge of time and using that little hint as a sort of peace treaty.

'A peace treaty with a murderer is quite absurd, especially when you have bragging rights' BB thought 'that is, unless the murderer's help is needed'

BB smiled deviously at the realization of L's embarrassing need for his help.

"Hello L Lawliet." By using L's real name, something highly guarded and only known by a couple, BB had declined L's peace treaty.

A pause came from the screen, L was angered. BB's refusal had kept them in worse terms; where L once saw Beyond Birthday as simply a failed experiment, he now saw him as an enemy he would not lose to.

"What name do you go by now? Backup? B? Beyond Birthday? Or have you created a new name to fit that insane persona you've created?" L stated monotonously which contrasted with the feelings the words were drenched in.

"Oh Lawliet, I don't create the personas, they create me. Though, what happened to my latest name, Rue Ruyuzaki? Is it still mine or have you chosen to steal it from me?"

"I am simply burrowing it. I didn't think you'd have much use for it while being locked up as you are"

"Well you are not forgiven for stealing" he stated with an underlining message suggesting he was not simply talking about the name.

Beyond Birthday still blamed L for the lack of attention and love he received from everyone, including Wammy, and now he had added his lack of motivation and the world's betrayal on his mental list of 'All things that are L's fault'.

L did not reply to his statement instead settling on a smirk, something BB could not see but knew was happening for it was in L's nature to be prideful. L knew what BB had meant by his statement and he was glad. He was glad Wammy favored him and in no way was he ever going to share Wammy with BB, though BB would have done the same if he were in L's position.

"How do people not see the monster you are?" BB laughed out loud disguising the state of defeat he was in.

Beyond Birthday bit his thumb trying to hide the frustration he felt. L was a monster; he was an embodiment of the seven deadly sins- gluttony, lust, sloth, greed, wrath, envy and pride. A selfish being that always overshadowed BB and even when BB challenged him he chose to send someone else to hunt him down implying that BB was not in his league nor was he worth his time.

"Tell me Beyond, do the ends justify the means?" L asked.

"Only if you are the winner for then you don't have to suffer the consequences"

"Ah, aren't you a sore loser?"

"Takes one to know one"

"How immature"

"I repeat, it takes one to know one"

A light air surrounded them as they bonded. That very realization angered Beyond Birthday; he was not going to bond with L. He was not L; it took him getting burned alive to finally accept that fact. Though, after pretending to be L for so long, it was inevitable for him to adopt some of L's characteristics as his own.

"You are no better than I am. You kill, you destroy lives and you only help when the situation sparks your interest," BB stated returning the mood to a grim one.

"I only catch the criminals they are sentenced by the law depending on their crime"

"Yet you are a criminal who is never sentenced because you are protected by the law. Oh wait, no, you are not protected by the law you are the law," Beyond stated in a tone meant to insult the other.

Beyond Birthday hated the fact that L justified his wrong doings. A sinner that knows he should repent is much better than one who thinks god will overlook his sins simply because he himself did. L constantly states that he only accepts cases which interest him; that is only true because he seeks attention and attention interests him. L only chooses cases that are showy flowers, ones that are so beautifully different they attract all the butterflies. L does not care about the greater good he cares about the goodness of being great.

"As much as I'd love to win this argument, my time is precious and cannot be wasted," L stated smugly "I would like your input on a murder case"

BB was no going to allow L's disguised embarrassment slide by him undetected and unexploited.

"Oh, goodness! The world's three greatest detectives wants my help. I'm honored," Beyond pitched his voice and flung his arms around in excitement faking an exaggerated enthusiasm.

"I simply thought you had so much time to spare and would enjoy some mental exercises," L tried forcibly and rather pathetically this time to hide his embarrassment "Isn't it true that light can only be understood by the wisdom of darkness?"

"Oh, are you implying that I better understanding goodness and justice," BB stated angrily for L did not truly believe his flattery "well then, shouldn't I be let out into the outside world because I am the best at understanding justice?"

"You may understand it but that doesn't mean you will choose to follow it"

BB smiled at that statement. It was obviously an insult, but a true insult was far less degrading than false flattery.

"But seriously Beyond, aren't you too bad of a person to use the excuse 'life's unfair'"

"Cheer up Lawli, you're way too irrational when you're angry. Life is unfair to everyone; it doesn't make exception for 'bad people'"

"Are you simply going to play Devil's advocate?"

"Unlike you, I do so without hiding under a pretense of a halo" Beyond stated confirming L's accusation.

BB could feel L's boiling anger, a rare occasion. Actually now that he thought about it, he had never experienced such wrath and frustration from L and until this moment he thought such emotion was extinct in L.

'This case must truly be interesting' BB thought to himself as he smiled widely in a way not too far off from the Cheshire's smile in 'Alice in Wonderland'.

"Well _L_ , didn't you say your time was precious? Spit out with the case already"

"The most dangerous ranked criminals, who were sentenced to prison, have been dying off all by heart attacks"

"The killer gave them amphetamine, an anti-psychotic that releases monoamines by amphetamine ergo accelerating a person's heart rate; in high quantities it can cause untraceable heart attacks; it was probably a prison officer"

"The killings have been taking place all around the globe"

"There isn't one killer, it's an organization"

"Some of the criminals hadn't been sentenced to jail yet when they died"

"The killers are trying to push suspicion away from them"

"The killings happen moments after the results of the criminals' trials have been announced to the public"

"The killers are trying to make you believe that there was no fore knowledge of the criminals sentencing"

"The killer only needs a face and a name to kill"

Beyond Birthday exhaled in frustration. He knew what L was hinting at, he knew what L wanted him to predict. Though, it was so absurd L himself wouldn't say it.

"You think the killing is done in supernatural methods?"

"That is a possibility"

"A very unlikely one!"

"Just as unlikely as someone being able to see the names and death date of others"

Beyond Birthday closed his eyes and then exaggeratedly opened them showing off his natural red orbs. It was unlikely for someone to have his eyes. If someone were to have them they would either be a criminal or in an asylum or, in Beyond's case, both.

'L must be having little to no leads for him to actually consider supernatural methods of killing and feel the need to consult me about it' Beyond Birthday thought.

After moments of silence in which they both tried to decipher the other's mind, realization hit him. L knew of only one person that can simply see others' names. He was frustrated with BB during the whole visit. He actually tried to make peace with BB, something he never felt the need to do before. L didn't visit BB to discuss the case with him; L did so to confront BB about the case.

BB's eyes widened in sync with his mouth. His whole body was shaking as he once more started to rub his hands, the identity of the feelings accompanied by this action- be it anger, excitement or simply anxiousness- was still a mystery to him.

"You're losing," BB stated not bothering to hide the shock that stained his every feature.

"I am not. I know who the perpetrator is and he is already in his cell"

"The fact that you truly believe that simply proves my accusation"

"Admit your crime I am 78% certain that you are the killer"

"The killer kills criminals; I am not one for honor killing"

"You're not sending me on another wild goose chase. Simply give up"

"I no longer have an interest in having you hunt me down"

"Just admit that you are Kira!"

"Kira? The Japanese pronunciation of _killer_ "

"I have you cornered; give up"

"If the killings just started then the person must have recently received these powers and must have practiced them. Try tracing the first unusual heart attack deaths"

BB felt like Back up, a frustrated boy at Wammy's House who constantly tried to outsmart L but was never given long enough attention in order to complete such feat. He was frustrated and overwhelmed. It was as though time was getting shorter and shorter leaving him with barely enough time to get his point across.

"Why do you care so much about the petty killings of criminals?"

"No life is more worthy than another; I am simply trying to return justice"

L's blunt lie caused both men to abruptly pause their argument. BB knew L; he knew L's reasons behind taking the case, or rather the basic reasons for why he took any case, and it was in no way as honorable as trying to restore justice. L's lie belittled BB; it made him feel as though L truly thought BB would be dumb enough to believe such utter bull.

BB no longer cared about trying to convince L of his innocence ergo no longer sending him closer to solving the case. He felt rather selfish.

"Lawli, Lawli, quite contrary  
How does your garden grow?  
With silver bells and cockleshells  
And pretty maids all in a row."

By replacing the name Mary- Mary I of England- with Lawli in the children's rhyme, BB was alluding to the comparison between the two. 'Quite contrary' reminds Mary of her unsuccessful attempts to reverse church changes effected by her father, Henry VIII, and her brother, Edward VI, as well as L of his failed attempt at retrieving his pride in the form of being the ever-succeeding detective. He asks L how his title grows just as the rhyme sarcastically asks Mary how her reign grows. Similar to how Mary tried to rule under the pretense of religious themes, silver bells and cockleshells, L did so under the pretense of justice. The rhyme ends answering the question; Mary's reign grows by killing off Protestants and L's title grows by killing his enemies.

The Gothic L disappeared from the laptop's screen as L withdraws from the argument. L had had enough from the conversation and it seemed apparent, even to him, that his reasoning ability was dropping far more than it would have had if he sat normally. BB was, once more, left in the silent darkness of his cell allowing his loud thoughts to pour into the vacant space. BB had finally won an argument against L, though he felt no satisfaction.

* * *

 **A/n: I'm kinda losing interest in this story so I'll probably just give it one more chapter (don't worry; I'll give it a spectacular ending)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I know I stated that I would post this chapter after my exams but I really don't feel like studying so I've been procrastinating. This chapter is short in comparison to my previous chapters. Enjoy and I hope you like the ending.**

* * *

Beyond Birthday, with his eyes kept closed, got ready for the show. He took a deep breath but not too deep, so that the cameras couldn't sense it.

'Another day, another show' Beyond thought as he started screaming.

His screams were high pitched and broke often, similar to screams of fear and that was exactly what he was going for. He flung his arms and legs up onto the air hitting a non-existent perpetrator. Sweat started to pour across his face as he overworked his body. He outwardly screamed and cried while he silently praised his acting skills.

Beyond had been doing this little show for months now, ever since L's visit. To the people observing him through the cameras they saw a crazed maniac. One who's reality was merged with his twisted mind. His mind left him with restless sleeps that lasted for days. In his sleep, he would try to protect himself from an imaginary offender only to lose and have his whole body, including his heart, lay still for a couple of minutes as though he were dead. Though, the rare times he was awake he would show extreme emotions. He would laugh so hard that his knees would buckle down and cause him to fall. In contrast to when he would get paranoid and hide in a corner while scratching his arms until there was no more flesh to withstand his dark blood. Beyond gave his audience a perfect show of a person suffering from narcolepsy, a chronic sleep disorder.

Beyond just lost the fight against his offender and laid dead still. Every day, during this part of his show, a petrified person would rush into his cell to place a bottle of water and pills on a table and then rush out fearing the possibility of having to encounter a psychotic person. Beyond waited a couple of minutes after the person left before getting up and heading towards the pills.

He limped as he walked towards the table. Now that he was standing up, the cameras had a perfect view of Beyond's self-inflicted bruises and bony figure. Beyond truly went to extreme means in order to perfect his role. He had no problem with slowly breaking his body, especially since he would have no longer need it.

Beyond took the pills and slid them under his sleeves while giving the cameras the impression that he was swallowing them. He drank some of the water simply to hide his smile. Walking towards his bed, he contemplated on how well his plan was going. Once he reached his bed, he dropped himself- face down- on to the bed. He, then, hid the pills inside his pillow sack with the stash he already had. He was paid with pills for his acts just as street performers were paid with coins for their shows.

Ever since Beyond spoke with L, he couldn't stop thinking of the Kira case. L still thought that Beyond was Kira. L was blinded by his frustration for not having any concrete suspects or proof so he simply pinned the blame on the first person he could think of. His thoughts were jumbled up and his percentages were subjective.

One would assume that L's loss would be Beyond Birthday's gain, but that was not the case. Beyond did not want L to lose to Kira, for if L lost to Kira it would be as though he had lost to himself. L and Kira were very alike in so many ways. They were both childish; they hoped to change the world to their liking with themselves sitting on the top of it as though it were their throne. They both justified their acts by believing that their actions were in favor of the greater good. But most of all they both hated to lose; an aspect they shared with BB but he, on the other hand, did not believe death was considered losing.

Whoever thought of the quote 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend' was clearly not so bright. BB did not see Kira as his ally but rather his competition. He was competing against Kira on who would win against L. BB was not going to lose to Kira, even if that meant he would have to help L. And if L was not able to beat Kira even with his help, then L was never a worthy rival.

Beyond Birthday was planning on committing suicide, something he had planned to do long ago but was stopped. His acts of insanity convinced the doctors at the asylum that he needed amphetamine to stop his unusual vagaries. They saw no harm in giving 'an evil genius'- a fitting description many referred to him as- drugs. They knew that the only way he could abuse the drugs was by harming himself with them, which is something they saw no reason for him to do. Though, they were wrong for he had a reason. By killing himself with a heart attack everyone would assume Kira killed him; that is so with the exception of L who would finally believe that BB was not Kira after the killings continue with his number one suspect under the ground.

Beyond lifted his upper body with his forearms after grabbing all his pills. He stared at the stash of amphetamine in his hands. Half of the amount of pills he had could have been enough for an overdose that would cause him to have an undetected heart attack. He could have committed the deed months ago but he didn't, or rather he couldn't. Now that he was about to commit the deed, he felt unsure.

His mind pulled him into different domains of thought making him feel as though there was more than one person inside of him, all with opposing opinions. He had his reasons for suicide, reasons that he had acted upon for the past couple of months. Though, Beyond was a very fluid person. He could not commit to anything- be it a persona, a name or an opinion- so how was he expected to commit to death. Especially since he would be committing to death under selfless intention, or better put it not completely selfish intention.

Beyond smiled his infamous sadistic smile. He had always adored his mind games for always bringing out the vulnerability in people; though, he never expected himself to be his biggest victim.

Beyond savagely put the pills in his mouth to quench his undesirable thought, the same way a person would stuff his mouth with food after not eating for a prolonged period of time. He took a deep breath while keeping in mind that with death regret could not plague him, a debatable statement but he chose to see it as a fact.

Beyond wished for once to keep his mind blank and simply focus on his deep breaths. His heart was beating so quickly and heavily. With every pump of blood surging through his body, he expected his soul to leave him. The blood flow stopped, forcing his heart to pump harder. His body started to go numb though still holding behind a stinging pain. His eye sight seemed to forget to do its job as it got lazy and simply showed him shades of grey that slowly faded into nothingness. His chest felt too heavy to carry and so he fell endlessly. He kept on falling as sweat coated his body. The burning pain spread like fire across his body feeding on his organs.

Beyond Birthday was dead before he could stop feeling the pain. With him, he took the life of all his personas and names ergo ridding the world of more than one maniac.

* * *

 **A/N: So, what do you think? I can't be the only one who didn't think Beyond died because Kira wrote his name in the Death Note. Never mind that, did you enjoy the story? Did you not? Should I write more Beyond Birthday fan fiction or should I move on to other Death note characters?**


End file.
